Destin Ash from Hutch Ambulance (at centre in the picture below) explained to students at the Assiniboia Elementary School about the health effects of smoking.
The students took part in the annual Kick Butts Day on March 24 to learn about the effects of smoking. Kick Butts Day is a day of activism that empowers youth to stand out, speak up and seize control against Big Tobacco at more than 1,000 events planned by independent organizers around the world.
Representatives from the Assiniboia Detachment of the RCMP, Hutch ambulance and Public Health attended the event and set up activity stations for the students. At one station the students learned how Big Tobacco uses slick marketing methods to lure in young smokers as a replacement to the 1,300 North Americans who die from smoking annually.
Although Big Tobacco target youth who are are three times more sensitive to tobacco advertising than adults, they may be surprised that Assiniboia’s students proved to be pretty savvy about manipulate marketing to appeal to their age group.
At the public health station, the students learned about the 4,000 toxic chemicals, including 43 known cancer-causing compounds in cigarettes. The students viewed visual aids and participated in some thought-provoking activities to experience how the lungs can be affected by smoking. RCMP Cst. Kevin Tufts talked to students about the different laws related to youth and smoking.
Every day, more than 3,000 youth under 18 try smoking for the first time and 700 youth become new regular, daily smokers.
Tobacco use is still the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., killing more than 480,000 people every year. Tobacco use killed 100 million people worldwide in the 20th century. If this trend continues, tobacco will kill one billion people in the 21st century.
